


You Never Asked

by gambitsgeekyprincess



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Au of sorts, M/M, Universe Alteration, WIP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-14
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-02-25 08:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2615174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gambitsgeekyprincess/pseuds/gambitsgeekyprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the walking dead retold with Daryl & Merle as husbands instead of brothers</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ya'll Are What?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [He Ain't My Brother](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2268540) by [bmlhillenkeene](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bmlhillenkeene/pseuds/bmlhillenkeene). 



" Ta hell with ya'll, just tell me where he is so I can go get em! " Daryl yelled.

Before Rick can open his mouth Lori cuts in, " he'll show you. Isn't that right, Rick? "

Rick nods. " I'm going back. "

Daryl picks up his crossbow as Rick grabs supplies as well while requesting Glenn come with them due to his experience in getting in and out of the city. Glenn agrees at the same time that T-Dog also volunteers to go with them. Soon the group is geared up and heading out, all in one van, Daryl driving with Rick in the passenger's seat and Glenn and T-Dog in the back. Daryl's fingers tap the steering wheel and Rick can see that the other man is biting the inside of his cheek. It seems to take forever but they eventually reach the building where they left Merle on the roof.

Daryl's first inside and up the stairs, Rick and the others right behind him and before they know it they're cutting trough the chains T-Dog had wrapped around the stair well door and Daryl is on the roof in an instant. He's screaming Merle's name and rounding the pipes and sees Merle, hacksaw in hand about to remove his wrist from his arm. Daryl's at his side in an instant ripping the saw from Merle's free hand. Merle just stares at the other man for a moment before a huge grin splits his face and he's pulling Daryl in for a deep kiss. Daryl doesn't fight it, too grateful for Merle being alive to worry about anyone of the small group seeing them. A gagging sound pulls them away from one another and Merle laughs as Daryl glares.

" What, ya'll ain't ever seen two men kissing before!? " Daryl demands.

" Aren't ya'll brothers!? " Glenn wheezes out between dry heaves as he tries not to look at the two Dixons.

" What!? Hell, nah we ain't! what gave ya that idea!? " Daryl barks out.

" You two have the same last name. " T-Dog says in reply to Daryl's question.

Merle's laugh rings out loud and his hand in Daryl's hair tightens. " Yeah, we do, cuz were married. "

" What!? " Glenn and T-dog yell.

" Married, hitched, tied the fucking knot! " Merle says through a grin. " That's why our names are da same. It's not our fault if you all assumed we were family."

Daryl is blushing a bit as their small group stares at the two of them, mouths and eyes wide. He finally turns back to Merle and pulls out a safety pin from his shirt and begins to pick the lock on the handcuff. A click echoes through the now quiet air and soon the two men are on their feet and Merle's arms are wrapped tight around Daryl. Rick and the others watch as the older man leans in to place another kiss on Daryl's lips as he speaks.

" Knew you'd come 'n get me, babe, " Merle says.

" Then what was with the fucking hack saw!? " Daryl asks, voice cracking barely hidden concern.

" Jus trying ta get back ta ya faster, baby boy. " Merle strokes Daryl's back as he speaks. " But hey, forget it, were together now ain't we? "

Daryl nods his head and goes to say something else but is interrupted by Glenn. " Why didn't you two ever mention to us you were married? " Daryl turns to Glenn and in all seriousness says, " Ya'll never asked. "

Glenn starts to protest until he realizes Daryl's right, none of them had ever asked the men's relations, they had just heard that they shared the name Dixon and assumed. The sound of Rick clearing his throat as the group shaking off the shock and heading out to grab supplies and heading back to camp.

The ride back is silent as Glenn and T-Dog watch the Dixon's and realize that despite the fact that they aren't huge on PDA you can still tell that they were a couple if you payed enough attention. It's there in the way Daryl and Merle sit side by side in the back of the van, legs pressed together from ankle to hip. It's in the way Daryl checks Merle's wrist for injuries. More than anything tough it's in the way Merle looks at Daryl, with a soft smile he's never directed at another member of their camp.

Husbands. These two men were husbands and Glenn couldn't really wrap his head around it but at the same time thought they looked right somehow. The van pulls to a stop at camp and suddenly Glenn realizes things are about to get weirder at camp when everyone else finds out .


	2. Keep Moving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the guys arrive back at camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is late ya'll some things came up. also just in case it isn't clear here Merle's mom was abusive of him in this story. i will be going into more detail later on about Daryl and Merle's lives before and after they got together.

It's dark a few miles before they reach camp. They're all tired, especially Merle who spent twenty-four hours awake on a roof but he's too proud to admit it. The rest of the van can hear Daryl's harsh whispers as he tries to persuade the other man into a quick nap before they reach camp, Merle has long since given up on saying no and instead is just not replying to his young husband. Glenn glances at Rick out the corner of his eye, the ex-officer is taking all of this surprisingly well, zombies, finding his family and two crazy ass redneck husbands. It gives Glenn hope and for a moment he thinks maybe they can all do this. T-dog is in back with the Dixon husbands and he catches Glenn glancing at them all through the visor mirror and he nods, and Glenn is sure they can all do this, they can survive.

Then they're pulling into camp and all thoughts rush out of his body and they're all flying out of the van. The camp is under attack, geeks are everywhere, they're people are fighting back but already a few fresh corpses litter the ground ready to soon rise again. It takes them too long, they fight, and most of them make it but not enough, one death is too many. They lost Amy, Ed, and Jim is bit.

They burn the dead, they mourn and they move on, they have to keep moving. Rick suggest they head to the CDC for help with a chance to save Jim from his fate. Shane tries to change his mind, tries to suggest they head to Fort Benning but Rick refuses, it's a hundred and twenty-five miles to Benning and he needs to keep his family safe. When Rick announces the plan to the camp Shane backs him up and Rick is glad to have the support of his best friend, so glad he doesn't see the way Shane's eyes linger on Lori and Carl.

They head out at dawn but don't get very far before the radiator in the RV over heats and they are forced to stop and wait for Glenn and T-Dog to go ahead to find something to fix it. While they're stopped Jim tells them hes ready to be with his family and request they leave him behind and although it leaves Rick feeling a bit sick at himself they do as the man wishes and leave propped against a tree. Eventually they're back on the road and at the CDC. The building is surrounded by corpses, maybe at least forty of them if not more.

There's screaming and begging and but then the metal shutters are opened and they are allowed entrance to the relative safety of the building with the promise that each member submit to a blood test by the doctor. 

" Doc's always go round with that kinda heat? " Daryl asks and Dr. Jenner admits to taking a few guns from the deceased and teaching himself how to use them. Jenner leads them to the control room to begin the test.

Andrea is first up and after having her blood taken is so dizzy she can barely stand by herself and the group reveals they haven't eaten in days and Jenner smiles at them. After the test Jenner leads them to the cafeteria where the fridge is still fully stocked. They decide to celebrate, after all they're and they're still alive so they break out the wine with the meal as well. It's not long before they're all drunk or at least buzzed and Glenn decides it's story-time.

" So, Daryl, how did you and Merle meet? " Glenn asks.

" What do you mean, they're brothers aren't they ? " Carol asks quietly.

" That again, where the fuck did you people get that idea from? " Merle ask loudly. " Do we act like brothers? Do Brothers share the same tent or did ya'll just assume we wuz white trash inbreeds? "

Daryl laughs at Merle, if he weren't this drunk he'd have probably said something of the like but as it is the liquor has loosened his tongue and Merle and him never did keep "them" a secret they just didn't feel the need to shout it from the rooftop like some people.

" We grew up on the same street, " Daryl starts.

" Weren't no place fer a kid, " Merle joins in. He'd never admit but Daryl knew he loved telling people how they got together.

" We had each others backs. Ya see Daryl and I didn't have the best up bringing. " Merle had a pain filled grin on his face as he spoke.

" Merle joined the army when I was about sixteen, it was hard doing with out a place to run but I managed. I survived cuz I knew he'd come back fer me. " Daryl was almost whispering and Glenn felt a bit bad for asking.

" I didn't wanna go, didn't wanna leave ya, but if I hadn't gotten out she'd a killed me and you'd a been alone. " Merle's voice was softer than anyone had ever heard from the gruff man. " I couldn't leave ya alone with that man, had ta find a way to make some money and get us both the fuck outta that town. "

Daryl gripped Merle's hand in his as he spoke, " I know Merle, never blamed ya fer leavin', jus missed ya is all. Worried I'd be dead before ya got back. "

Merle gulped loudly and continued the story, " when I got back the first thing I did was run ta Daryl's house. Thank god I did. Daryl. his dad... " Merle looked furious and was squeezing Daryl's hand so tight his knuckles were white.

" It's okay, Merle. I'm here. You stopped 'em and I'm here with ya now. " Daryl's already soft voice was almost undetectable.

" I killed him. Pulled him off Daryl and beat him to death with my own hands! " Merle growled.

Some of the women of the group gasped but Merle ignored them.

" I fixed Daryl up. We grabbed what we could carry of his thangs, not like his old man gave him much anyways, " Merle said with a sneer. " We stopped by my place to grab my thangs, ma was passed out with some new John, and then we got the hell outta there. "

Daryl finally spoke again. " We never had much, but we managed, moved from place to place, took odd jobs fer money and survived off the land, eventually we wound up in Vegas. "

" I had a few bucks left over from a recent drug deal and went out an bought a ring, didn't get down on one knee like no pansy tho. " Merle laughed.

" He threw it at me, caught me in the cheek fer it landed on the floor, thought it was some change or some shit, bought fell on my ass when I saw the ring. " Daryl was smiling shyly, face tinted pink from a blush they all were kind enough to pretend to not see.

" We went down to a chapel few hours later, Daryl bought me this here wrist cuff, knew I wouldn't wear no fucking ring, and then that was it. We've been together ever since. " Merle finished.

The room was silent for a moment, questions running trough there minds but unable to think of a way to ask the two easily angered men. Glenn was the one to break the silence with a less dangerous question. " Wait, if he got ya a ring where is it? ".

Daryl laughed a bit and pulled a leather cord from round his neck. " Merle didn't know my size so he got it in his, thing ain't never gone fit none a my fingers so I wear it on here. ".

The girls in their group tried to get a closer look at the ring but it was gone almost as fast as it appeared. The only thing any of them could tell for sure was that it was silver and had at least two or three blue jewels in it. The room was once more engulfed in silence, until finally Carol whispered " Congratulations. " Daryl huffed out his thanks and nudged Merle with an elbow until the other man did the same. Merle then asked Jenner where they could fuck and sleep, apparently the older man had enough bounding time. Rick watched the two go and wondered how any of these people were ever going to make it together.


	3. Alone Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merle and Daryl and a quiet Moment alone at the CDC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll, sorry its been forever since i've updated. This chapters short but i hope ya like it just the same :)

" Ya know ya didn't have ta go 'n tell 'em all that, " Daryl said as the door to the small room closed.

" Yeah, I know but I figured get it outta the fucking way now and we won't have ta later, " Merle said in a huff.

" Ya just like fucking bragging about being mah hero, " Daryl said with a smirk.

" Maybe I do, " Merle said with a laugh as he scooped out the room.

It was a small room, really only meant for one person if the small twin bed was anything to go by but hell they slept in tighter more uncomfortable spaces before. There was also a bathroom and closet. The bathroom was useless with out running water but Merle checked the closet for anything of value. There wasn't much in the small space but he did find a few clean shirts they could share and a stash of mini vodka bottles hidden on a top shelf. He pulled everything out of the closet and shoved it in one of their Duffle bags before falling onto the bed in a heap.

Daryl chuckled and lied down beside his husband. The room was quiet for the longest time, the two men just enjoy the soft surface for the first time in months. Daryl eventually turned over to watch Merle's face as he spoke. They didn't talk about feelings often but after the last couple of days Daryl figured this was as great a time as any.

" You are my hero, ya know? I wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't fer ya, " Daryl whispered as he stroked Merle's arm.

Merle snorted. " Yeah ya would have, yer one tough son of a bitch darlin, but i'll still help ya sorry ass out if you insist. ".

Daryl laughed, he knew Merle was right, they were both survivors and no matter what happened, they both would make it even if they had to do it alone. Daryl held onto Merle's hand as he leaned in to press his lips softly to Merle's. Merle kissed back just as gently but took a nip at Daryl's bottom lip as they pulled apart. Merle trailed his eyes down the length of Daryl's body as the two moved closer into each others arms.

" I'm serious Daryl, yer tough as nails, if something happens to me you better fucking live! " Merle growled. " I'll never forgive ya if you pussy outta this world just because i leave ya alone. "

Daryl swallowed hard before relying, " I promise Merle, but don't fucking leave me till ya gotta. "

" Now see here, baby boy, I'm only gonna say this once." Merle started as he reached for the cord around Daryl's neck. " This here ring means until death do us part. I ain't leaving ya till I'm dead and gone and you can bet your tight little ass I ain't going down with out a fight so your stuck with me. "

Daryl smiled and punched Merle in the arm before pulling the older man into a deep biting kiss that left them both breathless but nothing more would come of it tonight. They we're both to drunk for anything more than a long nights sleep plus they'd need their energy if officer friendly decided they should keep moving.


End file.
